Can Brandon Vera do the unthinkable?

[Final Form Snyper.]

As the question asks, can Brandon Vera do the unthinkable this weekend an defeat former Pride and UFC Champion Mauricio Rua?

I believe he can but the bookies are completely right with having Shogun the bear unbackable favorite. Brandon Vera has terrific striking and is no slouch on the ground, I believe that his best chance will be standing though. Vera has shown that when pressured on his back, he tends to wilt.

On his feet though, I see that he can potentially expose Shogun for his over reliance on his hands and as one of the fastest and accurate strikers the UFC have to offer at 205. The gameplan for Vera will have to be able to keep his distance and use his kicks that made him a former Heavyweight star to unsettle and catch Shogun on the outside. Vera has beautiful Muay Thai and if he can slow Shogun with those hard leg kicks and keep his distance. I believe that he can not only beat Rua but finish him.

 

[JWGunslinger]

It's funny, I was just whipping Vera's ass with Shogun on Undisputed a moment ago then I stumbled on this. Ofcourse Vera can do it, he's a good striker and if Shogun comes in anything less than 100 percent I can definitely see The Truth getting the upset. Shogun is a great fighter but you've gotta be careful betting the house on him because you never know when his knee is going to bother him or what have you and then you get a fight like Shogun-Coleman 2 at UFC 93. There was a fight where Mauricio had all the tools to wreck Coleman but due to some physical issues it turned into a pretty close fight considering one guy was old as shit and allowed the younger feared striker to punch him in the face without much defense. But ofcourse then a few months later he KO's Liddell and then goes 5 rounds with Machida in his prime, Shogun comes in as the scariest fighter in the world or as winded cripple who can be beat by someone with talent.

Now considering lately Shogun has been doing just fine with his quick KO of Griffin at 134 and the war of the year at 139 against Hendo I expect him to come in looking like a star and wrecking Brandon. Vera's best chance is the feet but it's also where he'll have the most trouble, the best thing he can do is try to keep the distance and when Shogun comes in with his crazy flurries he'll need to back up/angle to the side and then try to counter. It's not going to be easy but if Shogun has an off night and he's sharp Vera can do it. But remember I'm saying that's very unlikely and 8 times out of 10(the two losses being due to injury) Maurico Shogun Rua gets his hand raised.

 

[Infinity]

First of all, it's MMA... and we all know the fight could end on a punch, knee, or kick outta nowhere. So, yeah, Vera CAN do it.

But, c'mon. Dude lost his last win in the past 3 years was his last fight against Elliot Marshall. A victory over Marshall in no way puts a fighter in position to face Shogun. I wouldn't be surprised to see it go the distance because Vera can defend fairly well, but I've got Shogun taking it easily.


On a side note, that FOX card is pretty stacked. So many fights I wanna see besides the main event. Machida/Bader, Davis/Prado, Lauzon/Varner, Swick/Johnson, Miller/Phan... wonder how many of those under card fights could make it on FOX.